Wednesday, 28 October 2020
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| today's route |
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| detail of KC area |
In terms of actual miles, I didn't go very far today, but it took me all day to do it.
I'd heard there was a paddlewheel riverboat in KC, but all I could find online was stuff about how there is such a boat and it's in the museum that's actually about the steamboat that sank 100 years ago or something. Anyway, after a diligent search, I gave up on the riverboat which I didn't anyway want to ride with the weather still pretty raw today. Instead I found 2 things I knew nothing about before this.
Strawberry Hill Museum and Cultural Center
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| Apparently these 2 buildings have been merged. |
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| a closer view for the detail |
This amazing example of Queen Anne architecture was built in 1887 and was a family home until 1919 when the local Catholic church bought it to be an orphanage. The flu epidemic that had started the year before was leaving a number of children orphaned. This one parish alone had 51 deaths in 1918 and 71 in 1919. The orphanage opened in 1919 and continued to house children in need until 1988. A remarkable history.
Now the house is used primarily as custodian for artifacts and cultural events for those of Eastern European ancestry who had settled in this area. The usual admission fee is $10, which is too much for me, but it's currently closed because of the virus.
As you can tell, it's way up on a hillside above the Missouri river, and from there I drove just a few blocks to my next stop.
Lewis and Clark Park at Kaw Point
I'd intended to come to Kaw Point because it's the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. The Lewis & Clark exhibit was an extra I hadn't expected. The truly odd thing about this park is that to get here, I had to drive through an industrial park, then through a narrow opening in the seawall, into a bare utilitarian parking area. At the end was a nice green spot where there were signs about L&C and Kaw Point. Usually access to a park is at least somewhat scenic, but the only scenery here was the river join, and that wasn't too scenic.
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| the Missouri River |
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| the Kansas River |
Not scenic. Industrial uses predominant here.
And here are some of the signs I found for the Expedition.
The dogs and I walked around a bit; there weren't many people there, probably because of the windy and chilly weather, as much as being a function of the day of the week.
Back on the road
I still don't know where I ended up, because Google claimed I'd find streets named something they weren't in real life and I drove quite a way (a) trying to find what they said I'd find and (b) giving up and trying to find a place to turn around and go back to figure out where to go despite it not being labeled the same. I ended up in some very pleasant old urban neighborhood with lots of large old churches of impressive appearance, so it wasn't a total loss.
I found the Wyandotte Nation's 7th St. Casino, the Wyandotte County Courthouse (now on the National Register of Historic Places), and the Kansas School for the Blind.
I passed an establishment called Animal Crackers Feed Store and Pet Supply.
Between KC and Leavenworth, for a great deal of the way it was continuous town - mile after mile of houses and businesses and so forth - and then suddenly I was in the country with crop fields and cows and such. I was on K-5 and it was one of the more winding roads I've encountered in this state. There are many hills along this road which, to a great extent, follows the course of the Missouri River.
I passed the J&N Ranch, which has a sign saying it's the Birthplace of Black Hereford Cattle.
In a field where cows were grazing I saw calves (this time) galloping and gamboling (no other word for it). Several of them playing together. Nice to see young cows acting like young 'uns.
Between the curves and trees/bushes growing alongside the road, I had little visibility of anything I wasn't specifically passing, so it was a surprise to find myself suddenly at an intersection where I hit the city limits of Leavenworth.
Leavenworth
A short distance along that road - US 73 - and I came to a rest area, where we were glad to stop. There was also one of the "info kiosks" that Kansas has, and I found this information.
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| I hadn't realized I was in an area of glacial hills but that explains all these hills I've been driving in. |
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| some glacial hill scenery (and a Lincoln quote) |
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| towns in this area |
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| I hadn't realized until this sign that I was at the Eisenhower VA Medical Center. |
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| This military memorial is right next to the info kiosk area. |
Driving away, I saw signs saying Leavenworth is the hometown of Melissa Etheridge (musician), Murray Dickson (major league pitcher 1939-59) and several others. Leavenworth is proud of its status as Kansas's First City.
I passed Fort Leavenworth, active since 1827, the sign says. Which, you know, is a long time for a fort to be active. There's a memorial to the Buffalo Soldiers on the grounds, but I didn't want to go through the process they've got to get admitted to a military base. Some other time when I'm not driving my house around.
I was aiming for the US Penitentiary building. Remember when I drove by here a week or two ago and said I was surprised at the way it looked? Well, here it is.
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| US Penitentiary (Leavenworth) |
I ask you, does this look like a prison to you? When I first saw it, that dome was gleaming in the sun (unlike today's grey sky) and I had it figured for a government building. Which it is, in a way, just not what I expected with this view.
It was built in 1903 and has had a mildly colorful history. Did you know (I didn't) that Japanese-Americans were held here during WWII because they refused to serve in the military while their families were being interned in prison camps for being of Japanese ancestry? Despite what the president's saying, our country has a history of some pretty racist actions now and then. Anyway, this link tells about that and some of the people who've escaped from the prison. https://en.wikipedia.org/US-Penitentiary-Leavenworth
I heard on the radio (I'm getting an NPR station here) that we'll have a full moon - which is also a blue moon - on Halloween. I also heard an Arizona woman who organized a strong get-out-the-vote effort in her state say one of the reasons she did it was she'd heard "panic is not a plan." Which seems pretty sensible.
From US 73 I turned onto US 40, retracing my path that day I'd gotten lost and discovered I had a very flat tire. I almost felt at home.
I stopped at the Lawrence KOA for propane. After my less than happy experiences in various state parks, I was sorry I hadn't even realized this place was here and instead had a reservation at a state park on the other side of Lawrence. But I didn't know when I made my arrangements that the state parks were definitely low budget in more ways than just price.
Lawrence
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| Lawrence Public Library |
One block over from the library is Massachusetts Street, which I'd heard is picturesque and the spiritual heart of Lawrence. I didn't take any photos but it is an old and attractive street, filled with shops and houses and people and this county courthouse.
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| Douglas County Courthouse, Lawrence |
Because I'd taken the time to drive around Kansas State University, I figured I'd better take a look at the University of Kansas, which is here at Lawrence. It too has an attractive campus. I didn't get as clear a feel for the school as I had at Kansas State, but my guess is that their relationship is much like that of the University of Texas (primarily liberal arts) and Texas A&M University (primarily agriculture and military).
I stopped for groceries and went on to Clinton State Park, which is very nearly in town. As I was driving in I saw a Blue Bird Restoration Area which, honestly, was the last positive thing to happen to me there.
First, I happened to notice a small sign on the entry booth (closed) saying all the water was shut off at the campsites and water was available only at a few public spigots. Then I followed the signs for "campground" - singular - even though I knew there were several different camping areas here. My campsite was #437 and, following the arrows, all I could find were campsites in the 100s.
I finally found a camp host who gave me directions to a water spigot and directions to my camping section. Getting there would involve going straight where the sign had told me to turn left. She laughingly agreed the signs only mentioned one campground. (I hadn't been thinking of it as a laughing matter.) It turned out her directions to both the spigot and the campground were almost as bad as the original signs, but I eventually found them and was pretty put out by the time I got settled. Aside from everything else, the campground was charging me an extra $2/night for having a water spigot at my site which they weren't allowing me to use. It's only $2, but it was a sort of last straw after driving around for an extra half hour I shouldn't have had to do.
Really - what is wrong with these folks and their inability to come up with useful directions? In the alternative, can't they draw a map of the campground on a piece of paper and Xerox it if they want to save printing costs? I guess Kansas saves all its innovation for agriculture.
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